Students and staff from Aurora Middle School joined Northern Lights Public Schools board trustees at the division's monthly school board meeting, last Tuesday for a Student Success presentation.
The meeting was held in Lac La Biche, one of the few board meetings that trustees hold in communities away from their Bonnyville headquarters.
A group of eight students were accompanied by the school's principal, Rob Wicker, the school's wellness coach, Madeline Belanger and the school's elder in residence, Dianne Ludwig—who students call Kokum, the Cree word for grandmother. As part of the student success presentation, the group shared their positive experiences having an elder in residence at the school. The group told trustees and senior school division administrators why the elder's role is important, and how other schools in the region also benefit by having a cultural elder among the schools' staff.
Ludwig gave introductory speech to the board about her life experiences, her passion and what being a Kokum really means to her.
"Being a Kokum means being able to love," Ludwig said "We have to learn to be gentle, holding a child in arms and telling them it's okay to cry—to me is a great thing."
Aurora Middle School officials say they have a collective and inclusive vision for all of their students, including those with First Nations, Metis and Inuit backgrounds, part of a new FNMI Focus program. The goal of the program is to ensure that all students have equitable opportunities for success. It provides support and collaboration to realize the vision that all First Nations, Metis and Inuit students in Alberta achieve or exceed the educational outcomes set for Alberta students. To align with the fundamentals of the FNMI Focus, the school hired Ludwig as the elder in residence.
This group of young students and their wellness coach, Belanger—who is also of Aboriginal background— shared their thoughts about how having a Kokum in school is not just about having a cultural connection or having someone to talk to, but it also has a positive impact on the students' mental health—an increasing concern in young school students throughout North America.
Belanger also talked about her past experiences as a student of aboriginal origin. She emphasized on how important it is for the students to have a cultural connection in schools.
"It is great to have Kokum at the school. When I was in school, I had been distant from Cree and I would've liked to have someone at my school who spoke Cree. We had a Cree class at school but it was taught by our French teacher and it was hard for us to connect with him culturally," said Belanger, adding that Indigenous people were not depicted properly in some of the text books she learned from. According to her, the experiences from when she was a kid are still relevant and it's time that people start talking about it.
"We need to have that conversation. It is important that we do, for the cultural connection the kids need to have at school... Having an elder at the school would've really helped me. It creates comfort and safety, gives us the ability to "indigenize" the context, builds pride in culture and ensures that stereotypes are not true. I am glad to say that this school is helping heal that wound," said Belanger.
The students also had a lot to share. One by one, they gave examples of how the focus programming — Kokum Dianne— have positively impacted their lives.
Student Emerson Cardina, 14, l said: "Kokum is someone you can talk to. She will come into the class just to give you a hug. It is important to have Kokum in the school, you can always talk to her and trust her."
Patience Bushby, another student from the school told the board a specific story aboiut how Ludwig had helped her one day at school after a sleepless night.
"I didn't sleep one night and the next morning in school, I told Kokum and she rocked me to sleep. Thank you Kokum for everything." said the 12-year-old.
Another young member from the group of students, Hailey Shukaliak described her 'Kokum' as being creative and crafty, "Kokum is great at crafting. She helps me with arts and crafts. She makes dreamcatchers, moccasins and mitts, and teaches us beading."
Bryce Delorme, another young student from Aurora talked about some of the other cultural activities students can benefit from by having an elder in residence at their school.
<span style="font-size: 14px">"Kokum helps by comforting us and she is there when you need someone to talk to. She keeps the Aboriginal culture alive, for example with the dance group, pow wow and jigging... Kokum is trustworthy and loving and helps her students a lot."</span>
To sum things up, Delorme also added, "I think there should be a Kokum in every school so students can go and talk to her, and they can feel better about themselves."
Through their student success presentation, and the examples put forth to the board by all the students, staff from Aurora Middle School demonstrated the benefits and progress of the Elder in Residence program, and emphasized on how important it is to have someone like Kokum in schools around the region.
Board members applauded the staff and students. NLPS board chairperson Arlene Hrynkyk said the students' words were "courageous" and thanked the students and staff that joined them at the meeting.
"Connections and relationships are so important and the way you guys have recognized it, kudos to you," she said to the school's staff encouraging engagement of dialogues, even when it is subjects that may be controversial.
The school division's next board meeting is on Wednesday, March 6 in their Bonnyville division office.
